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The Jewish Times (Boston) was a weekly paper that ran from 1945 to 1992.This collection is open to researchers; no user name required.

The Jewish Times

The Jewish Times (alternate titles: Boston Jewish Times, The Jewish Weekly Times) was a weekly paper that ran from 1945 to 1992. It covered much of the same ground as The Jewish Advocate but is another perspective on events impacting the Jewish community. It is also a rich source of information for genealogists.

Founded in 1889 as a school for female immigrants, Hecht House became a community hub for Jews living in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury.

Y.M.H.A. and Hecht House, Dorchester, Massachusetts

The Young Men’s Hebrew Association (Y.M.H.A.) was founded in Boston’s South End and incorporated on January 30, 1882 by a small group of residents. At the time of it’s founding, the mission of the Y.M.H.A. was to be the impetus of “the moral, physical, intellectual and social improvement” of its members.

Lina Hecht founded the Hecht House in 1889 as the Hebrew Industrial School in the North End of Boston. The school’s primary purpose was to educate young female immigrants in a trade (particularly sewing) so that they could provide for themselves in their new country.

The Hecht House had four overriding objectives: 1) foster democracy and citizenship; 2) to advance understanding of Jewish ideals; 3) conduct relevant programming to promote physical, cultural, moral and educational well-being, and 4) promote understanding among all community groups.

Between 1920 and 2009, the Bureau of Jewish Education promoted Jewish education in Boston and the suburbs through teacher training, curriculum development, and service projects.

Bureau of Jewish Education, Boston, Massachusetts

The Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE) in Boston, Massachusetts was founded in 1920, a result of a merger between the Associated Hebrew Schools of Boston and the Bureau of Jewish Religious Schools. The goals of the BJE, as found in the original constitution, were “to promote Jewish Education in the city of Boston and its vicinity; to render financial and moral aid to affiliated schools; standardize, co-ordinate and supervise such affiliated schools; maintain a Jewish Teacher-Training School; increase the Jewish Educational resources of the community; make scientific studies of the problem of Jewish education in all its communal phases.” Under its management were 24 Hebrew Schools, 13 Sunday Schools, and two teacher training programs.

The oldest federated Jewish philanthropy in the United States, CJP can trace its founding to Temple Israel Synagogue of Boston and the United Hebrew Benevolent Association.

Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston, Massachusetts

The Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) of Boston, Massachusetts is the oldest federated Jewish philanthropy in the United States. The current incarnation of CJP was formed in 1960, when two separate federated philanthropies – the Combined Jewish Appeal and Associated Jewish Philanthropies – merged to create a single organization dedicated to serving the needs of Boston’s Jewish community. As a result of this merger, CJP was able to focus its priorities and engage the community in providing resources for Jewish organizations in Boston and beyond.

CJP’s records contain the history of several other organizations, from the forerunners of the current Federation to the Jewish institutions supported by CJP. Their beginnings can be traced to the founding of the United Hebrew Benevolent Association (UHBA) in 1864 at the Pleasant Street Synagogue (now Temple Israel).

Founded by a forerunner of CJP in 1938, the Jewish Community Relations Council focuses on examining the issues impacting Jewish communities and mobilizing social justice efforts.

Jewish Community Relations Council, Boston, Massachusetts

To address community concerns surrounding the increase in anti-Semitic attacks in primary Jewish neighborhoods, the Associated Jewish Philanthropies organized an interim committee in 1938 to examine interfaith cooperation in Boston. After this committee dissipated, Associated Jewish Philanthropies organized the Central Advisory Committee during World War II. Presently, the Council, now known as the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston, focuses on continuing the tradition of mobilizing the Jewish community around issues of social justice and support for Israel and Jewish people around the globe.

This collection contains the papers and records of local synagogues, Rabbis, educational groups and schools.

Rabbinical, Synagogue and Jewish Education Papers

This collection contains the personal papers of Rabbis, and the institutional records of synagogues and Jewish educational institutions, associations and groups. If you need help identifying collections, please visit our website at http://ajhsboston.org/collections/ to view our finding aids.

This collection contains the records of community-based and social service organizations created to assist Jews in the Greater Boston area and New England region.

Community and Social Service Organization Records

This collection contains the records of community-based and social service organizations, including Immigrants Mutual Aid Society, Hebrew Free Loan Society, Louisa May Alcott Club, and other organizations focused on providing welfare, educational, financial and labor services.

This collection holds the family papers of the Snider, Kane and Winer families of Massachusetts, as well as the business records of Eliot Snider and Elm Farms Supermarkets.

Winer, Kane, Snider Family Collections and Records of Elm Farms

This collection holds the family papers of the Winer, Kane, and Snider families of Massachusetts, as well as the records of the Elm Farms Supermarkets and related businesses.
Specifically, the Papers of Stanley and Mary Ann (Kane) Snider; the Papers of Eliot Snider; and the Records of Elm Farms Supermarkets.

In addition to the records of Elm Farms and related businesses, this collection also contains material pertaining to the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, American Technion Society, and Beth Israel Hospital, as well as family genealogies for the Snider, Karelitz, Kane, and Winer families.

Currently, we have the Papers of Stanley and Mary Ann Snider available.

This collection contains the professional papers of former Brookline Schools Superintendent and Boston University professor, Dr. Robert Sperber.

Dr. Robert Sperber Papers

Dr. Robert I. Sperber's storied career in education traverses New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusettts. For eighteen years, Dr. Sperber served as Superintendent of Brookline Public Schools, where he founded the Brookline Education Project, METCO, and Holocaust education. As Professor of Urban Education at Boston University, he was involved in managing local school systems and college consortia.
This collection is still being processed and digitized. A finding aid has not yet been completed. Please email reference@ajhsboston.org for more information.

The Wyner Family Papers span three generations of a prominent Boston family.

Wyner Family Papers

The Wyner Family Collection documents the personal, professional, organizational and philanthropic activities of three generations of a prominent Boston Jewish family. The documents describe the operations of the family knitting and textile businesses, the building and management of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel of Boston and the development and operations of the Beth Israel Hospital of Boston (1926-2001.) This collection describes the Wyner family's involvement in a wide variety of organizations, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and spans almost a century of involvement in community affairs. There is extensive material documenting the operations of the Wyner Mills, financial statements and legal papers concerning various family trusts, correspondence, governance and financial reports documenting Justin Wyner's Presidency of the American Jewish Historical Society and the involvement of several of the family members with the Beth Israel Hospital, the Combined Jewish Philanthropies and the Jewish Community Relations Council. Included in these organizational papers are meeting minutes, reports, correspondence and financial statements.

This collection holds collections from the Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore.

Jewish Heritage Center

This digital collection contains the papers of Jewish families and individual and records of Jewish organizations from the North Shore of Boston. The North Shore includes the towns of Lynn, Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Swampscott, Newburyport, and Manchester-by-the-Sea.

These collections were originally housed at the Jewish Heritage Center of the North Shore. Through a partnership with AJHS-NEA, their collections will now be available online. For more information on JHCNS, visit their website.

This collection contains newspaper articles written by Leo Shapiro from much of his 52-year career with the Boston Globe. Topics include education, politics, sports, civil right, Boston life, the arts, and the Jewish community in Boston, Israel, and abroad.

Leo Shapiro Newspaper Collection

Leopold (Leo) Shapiro was born in Paris, France, in 1907 and emigrated with his parents and brother, Jacques, to Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts, when he was 8 years old. Shapiro began his career with the Boston Globe as a copy boy on the night shift. By 1928, Shapiro was reporting on education topics in Boston. Through much of his career, from the 1940s through the 1970s, Shapiro wrote about the Jewish community in Boston and abroad. Although he covered many other topics, most of the articles were about Israel, Jewish life in Boston and abroad, and the local Jewish community. Between 1946 and 1969, Shapiro wrote the column "Local Lines," which documented and publicized the activities of and programs within the Boston Jewish community. This collection contains newspaper articles written by Leo Shapiro from much of his 52-year career with the Boston Globe. The collection of articles contains works on education, politics, sports, civil right, Boston life, the arts, and the Jewish community in Boston, Israel, and abroad.

This collections contains the papers, photographs and scrapbook of Abraham Captain Ratshesky, banker, philanthropist and ambassador.

Abraham Ratshesky Papers

Abraham Captain Ratshesky (“Cap”) was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 6, 1864 to Asher and Bertha. A banker by profession, Ratshesky started the U.S. Trust Company with his brother Israel in 1895. Ratshesky was also involved in politics, serving as a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1892-1895 and as a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1892, 1904, 1908, 1916, and 1924. During World War I, he was the Assistant Food Administrator for Massachusetts. His political background helped secure his nomination to the post of United States Minister to Czechoslovakia from 1930-1932 by President Herbert Hoover. In 1933, Ratshesky was honored with the Order of the White Lion First Class, Czechoslovakia’s highest honor.

About the collections

To request access, please complete the Special Researchers request form. You will be redirected to another website.

The American Jewish Historical Society-New England Archives (AJHS-NEA) is the cornerstone of the Jewish Heritage Center at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. It is associated with the American Jewish Historical Society in New York, the nation's oldest ethnic historical society.

AJHS-NEA serves as the archival repository for the documentary record of Jewish life in the Greater Boston area and New England communities, and the home of the reference library of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston. The Society’s extensive holdings include personal papers, organizational records, photographs, reports and other materials for researching the history of the Jewish community of Boston, including the records of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston and the Boston Jewish Community Relations Council, the Rabb Family/Stop & Shop archive, and the personal papers of Abraham C. Ratshetsky, Rabbi Albert I. Gordon and many others.